PAN to employ big names for campaign

BANDUNG (JP): The National Mandate Party (PAN) is recruiting noted political scientists Ichlasul Amal, Afan Gaffar, Mochtar Mas'ud and Syamsu Rizal Panggabean along with almost 300 other people to campaign for it in the election next June.

Party official Masrudin said the scientists and others to be recruited "have the potential to attract votes... not all of them are members of PAN but are volunteering to help."

The party is aiming to win 25 percent of the vote, he said, including the votes of those who had abandoned Golkar and the United Development Party (PPP).

American scholar William Liddle recently predicted that the next election would see the emergence of five major contenders: Golkar, the Megawati Soekarnoputri faction of the splintered Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), PPP, PAN and the National Awakening Party (PKB) established by Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Abdurrahman Wahid.

PAN is currently holding its congress here, where chairman Amien Rais announced on Wednesday his readiness to run for the presidency next year.

Party official Dawam Rahardjo said PAN was working to establish a democratic political tradition where all political parties could nominate their own leaders as presidential candidates. The party will officially announce its nomination either at the end of the congress on Friday or before the election next June.

Meanwhile, Amien Rais said the party was determined to eliminate feudalism and paternalism here, particularly in the political, economic and legal sectors.

"Feudalism and paternalism in the political, economic and legal sectors must be scrapped because they are barriers to our nation becoming a modern and democratic one," Rais said during an open dialog with congress participants.

He said feudalistic practices could be seen in the rigid division of social life into high, middle and lower social classes, while paternalism stems from certain figures who claim to be the most knowledgeable of all.

"Feudalism and paternalism must be done away with once and for all," he stressed, adding that paternalism is still growing in practice today. He said that PAN as a political party would like to get rid of feudalism and paternalism so that measures could be taken to prepare for the development of real democracy.

Regarding power, he said, PAN believes power is a mandate and not an instrument to be used for the benefit of an individual or a group or for the oppression of others.

"God willing, if power holders consider power as a mandate from God the Almighty, it is very unlikely that there would be abuse of power," he added.

About 500 participants from 23 regional governing boards and 155 subregional governing boards across the country are attending PAN's first national conference. (43)